Cebu, Bohol Teachers Launch Simultaneous Walks for Salary Hike

CEBU CITY – About 100 members of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) in Cebu and Bohol yesterday held a simultaneous protest walk to express their call for salary increase.

The activity, dubbed “Walk for Salary Increase”, is in support for House Bill 245, which is currently pending in the House of Representatives.

In Cebu City, teachers gathered at the Abellana National School ground and went walked towards Fuente Osmeña Circle. In Tagbilaran, teachers marched from the Dr. Cecilio Putong National High School ground to Plaza Rizal.

“There is an urgent need for salary increase, yet it is faced with unjust denial. Our experiences proved that the government does not want to prioritize the grant for salary increase,” said ACT 7 president Antonia Lim.

Lim claimed that the Aquino administration’s multimillion-peso debt to all government employees, including the 700,000 personnel of the Department of Education, is now three years overdue.

“We demand that the Executive Department must prioritize the salary increase of the government employees. We challenge education workers to act in solidarity with other government employees to meet the indifference and intensify the struggle for decent pay,” Lim added.

Meanwhile, close to 200 personnel of the Abellana National High School (ANS) which underwent a suprise drug test were all found negative for drug use.

ANS is considered the biggest government school in Cebu City.

Acting Principal Severina Chin said she was happy with the result because it only showed that teachers of ANS are not drug users.

However, 16 school employees were not around during the drug test.

Out of the 16 employees, 10 were absent; two were on maternity leave; two are set to retire next month, while the other two attended a meeting and a seminar. – CebuHeadlines.com